Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan is pleased to honor Madison with the most prestigious award in the world for girls: the Girl Scout Gold Award. Madison is among 13 young women who have made a difference in each of their respective communities through sustainable, community change projects. The time and continuous effort these girls have dedicated towards their projects prove they’re true leaders, innovators, and exceptional examples for all girls to look up to.

The Gold Award is Girl Scout’s highest honor and girls are required to spend at least 80 hours investigating the problem, creating a plan, and implementing it. It is presented to Girl Scouts who address a community issue or problem they’re passionate about. Madison chose to uplift her community through financial literacy for her project.

Madison addressed the topic of financial literacy and its impact on poverty and homelessness in her community. She learned that the root cause of financial illiteracy in her community was the lack of formal education about managing money. Madison tackled this issue by working with Fisher Magnet Lower Academy in Detroit to create a financial literacy curriculum for third graders and older. She and her team began by offering the curriculum within summer school activities to test the waters. It included four, 30-minute sessions where they taught the foundations and concepts of money with improvements seen throughout week. The principal of Fisher Lower Magnet Academy was pleased with the course and decided to incorporate it in the 2022-23 school year curriculum.

“This project allowed me to see and appreciate those who have
supported me and instilled confidence in my abilities.”